Quesnel Live Arts (QLA) has announced its 2019-20 season, and there’s a little bit of everything coming to Quesnel between October and April.
This season, six shows will be presented at the Chuck Mobley Theatre and one will be presented at the Occidental.
The QLA season features soul, jazz and R&B singer-songwriter Krystle Dos Santos; contemporary ballet and urban dance company Rubberband Dance; clarinetist Christopher Hall and the Comic Quartet; top classical crossover group Vivace; The Atlantic String Machine; and the Marc Atkinson Trio with Cameron Wilson.
Colleen Brines of QLA is excited about the variety of artists who are part of this upcoming season, representing many different genres and coming from across Canada.
“It’s quite a variety of shows this season,” she said. “We’re really excited to bring Rubberband Dance out of Montreal, which is athletic dancing. Marc Atkinson and Cameron Wilson have been here before, and as a band, they are amazing.”
The QLA season begins Thursday, Oct. 3 with a performance by Krystle Dos Santos at 7:30 p.m. at the Chuck Mobley Theatre, located at Correlieu Secondary School.
Based in Vancouver, Dos Santos is known for her powerful voice and her infectious warmth as she pairs original soul music with beloved Motown and soul classics made famous by Nina Simone, Stevie Wonder, Aretha Franklin, Alicia Keys, Ms. Lauryn Hill and Adele.
“Dos Santos’s interpretation of her influences has made it difficult to categorize her style,” her Facebook biography states. “Compared presently to Jill Scott or Corrine-Bailey Rae or even Erykah Badu, Krystle is able to personalize her sound and message, adding her own character to her music to create a uniquely refreshing sound.”
Rubberband Dance will perform Sunday, Oct. 27. They are a Montreal-based dance company formed in 2002, which has won several awards for choreography and cultural diversity in dance, and “combines the energy of hip hop, the refinement of classical ballet and the angular quality of contemporary dance,” according to the group’s press kit.
Next up is Christopher Hall and the Comic Quartet, performing Wednesday, Nov. 13. Hall is an award-winning clarinetist and comedian, and he is the former principal clarinet of the Orchestre Metropolitain in Montreal.
The QLA season picks up again in mid-January with Vivace, a classical crossover group based primarily out of Vancouver.
“Vivace’s stirring combination of male and female voices creates a sound that is exclusively their own, setting them apart in the classical-crossover pantheon,” says the group’s biography. “With a rich and diverse repertoire ranging from pop songs to opera arias, to their own self-written material, Vivace undoubtedly puts a fresh spin on both classical and contemporary music.”
Vivace performs Wednesday, Jan. 15, 2020.
The Atlantic String Machine will perform Thursday, Feb. 6, 2020. This string ensemble was formed in April 2015 and is based on Prince Edward Island, and they present a wide range of music, from classical to jazz, pop, world music and their own compositions.
The final show of the QLA season will be Saturday, March 7, 2020, featuring the Marc Atkinson Trio with Cameron Wilson.
Marc Atkinson is a multi-instrumentalist, composer, arranger and producer who has been nominated for a Juno Award, and he is considered one of Canada’s most talented musicians.
“The music of this virtuosic group is melodically captivating, sensually charged and ferociously, technically awe-inspiring,” QLA says of this group in its season brochure.
All performances will be at the Chuck Mobley Theatre at Correlieu Secondary School, and all shows start at 7:30 p.m.
Along with the six shows taking place at the Chuck Mobley Theatre, QLA presents one show at the Occidental, which is separate from the regular season and not part of the season ticket package.
The Derina Harvey Band will perform March 26, 2020, at the Occidental, and Brines says that night will be like a Celtic kitchen party.
“It’s going to be lots of fun,” she said. “There will be lots of dancing.”
Tickets for the 2019-20 Quesnel Live Arts season will be available as of Sept. 7, and the first chance to buy them in person will be that day at the Quesnel Farmers Market between 8:30 a.m. and 1 p.m. at the Helen Dixon Centre grounds.
Adult tickets are $25 per show or $125 for all six shows, giving season-ticket holders one free show. Seniors and youth can buy tickets for $20 per show or $100 for the season. Beginning Sept. 7, advance tickets will be available at Save On Foods, K-Max, Green Tree Health and the Occidental or by calling 250-747-2207.
For more information about the Quesnel Live Arts season, visit qla.ca, call 250-747-2207 or email qlarts@shaw.ca.
READ MORE: My story: former teacher and arts lover Colleen Brines
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